


sea of love

by weatheredlaw



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Character Death, Dementia, Father-Son Relationship, Found Family, Gen, Memory Loss, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2019-01-28 01:55:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12595500
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/weatheredlaw/pseuds/weatheredlaw
Summary: Magnus starts to forget. Angus hangs on.(i want to tell you how much i love you)





	sea of love

**Author's Note:**

> i've written this scene so many times but i can't seem to stop

  
_Come with me, my love_   
_To the sea, the sea of love_

 

* * *

 

“Hey, Angus?” Magnus stepped out of the living room, patting his shirt and pants pockets. He looked up. “You seen my glasses?”

Angus turned, wiping his hands on a dishtowel and looked Magnus up and down. He sighed, walking over to him and reaching up to take the reading glasses from the top of his head. “Here you go.”

Magnus stared. “...Oh.” He looked up. “ _Oh._ ” He laughed, taking the glasses back. “Guess I, uh...I just forgot I put 'em up there.” He grinned. “Thanks, kiddo.” Magnus held the glasses in his hand for a moment and smiled. “Gotta keep track of these things.” He clapped Angus on the shoulder and headed back into the sitting room.

Angus stood in the kitchen for a moment, considering his now empty hands. This wasn't the first time it had happened and by now, Angus knew it wouldn't be the last. He turned back into the kitchen to finish drying the dishes.

 

* * *

 

It had started a year before. Just little things here and there – Angus hadn't thought much of it. Magnus had always been a little scatterbrained when it came to remembering dates or when things started. They'd maintained an aggressively meticulous fridge schedule in Angus's youth for soccer matches and chess meets. All that was normal. Magnus got hit in the head – a _lot._ He'd been around for more than a hundred years. Human brains weren't _meant_ to deal with all that. All things considered, Magnus was doing just fine.

And then the other things started. Magnus couldn't for the life of him remember the names of Merle's kids. He stood outside the house searching frantically for his key, but they hadn't locked the door to their home in twenty years. Angus would come over for breakfast or lunch and Magnus would have spare place settings out, then not be able to recall who they were for.

(What would he do, someday, if he opened the door and Magnus didn't know him? What would he do if Magnus couldn't remember Lucretia or Barry – what would _any_ of them do if he forgot Merle and Taako?

He laid awake and considered his fear.)

 

* * *

 

“We'll just keep them right here for you,” Lucretia said gently, putting the cord around Magnus's neck. “And then those pesky glasses won't go anywhere.”

“You're a genius, Lu.”

“I know.” She stood and dropped a kiss on the top of his head. Magnus reached for her hand and gripped it tight. Angus pretended to busy himself with cleaning up the dishes. “Magnus...”

“I'm not...I'm not going to forget you.” He looked up. “Am I?”

It was the first time Magnus had admitted to any of this. The first time he'd voiced his fears. They'd seen healers and doctors, spoken at great length about how to prevent more of the memory loss, but Magnus seemed to smile through it all. It was like it was happening to someone else, and he was simply nodding along as they explained to him the finer details.

“A hairline fracture here could have caused--”

“Exposure to different planes is not recommended for humans without extensive magical training--”

“Did you ever fall from a distance greater than a hundred feet and _live_ \--”

Magnus just shrugged. He wasn't worried, then, about any of it.

Now, Angus looked at his face and saw the panic that had etched itself deep into the lines around his eyes and mouth. He looked between Angus and Lucretia, and he was afraid.

“Of course not,” Lucretia said gently, and sat next to him again. “Your mind just...isn't what it used to be.” She reached out and cupped his cheek. “You're our Magnus. And we're your family. Nothing changes that.”

“But if I forget--”

“Then you forget. I will not love you any less,” she murmured. Her slender fingers stroked his hand. “I could only ever love you more. Isn't that right, Angus?”

Angus nodded. “Sure is,” he said.

Magnus turned to him, smiled. “Alright then,” he said. “Alright.”

 

* * *

 

It was Barry who could bring Magnus back.

There were days when no one could get through to him, when the gap between what he knew and who they were was too much and too great to cross. But Barry – who looked the same and sounded the same and had held a certain place in Magnus's heart – could reach over and put a hand on his shoulder, or twist their fingers together and – bring him back.

“You remember me, don't you Magnus?”

“'Course I do.”

“What's my name?”

“Barry.”

Barry nodded. “Okay, now who's that?” He pointed at Lucretia.

Magnus squinted. “Lucretia.”

“And that?”

“Angus.”

“And who said he'd be here later to sit with you?”

“...Merle.”

Barry nodded. “Okay. And who...who's going to cook you dinner tonight?”

“Taako.”

Barry smiled. “See? You've got this. You're fine, bud.”

“I'm fine.”

“Yeah.” Barry gave his hand a squeeze. “Don't get scared when it happens, okay? Just find a face you can remember.”

Magnus nodded. “I can...I can do that.”

It was Barry who could bring him back, but it got harder and harder. Taako could do it in a pinch, but it took a spell more often than not to calm him, to restore a little bit of who he was.

Angus stood in the hall outside Magnus's room, listening to Taako's soothing voice, pressing his forehead against the wall and choking down a sob.

 

* * *

 

“Hey, bud.”

_thunk!_

Angus glanced toward Merle and nodded before bringing the ax down on another piece of wood. Merle just watched for a moment before settling on the ground nearby, picking a few daffodils out of the grass and twisting them together. Angus finally finished and leaned the ax up against the house, grabbing a towel and mopping the back of his neck.

“Keepin' busy?”

“I took a leave for the semester,” Angus said quietly. “Magnus is sleeping if you're here to see him.”

Merle shrugged. “Came to see you.” Angus raised a brow. “Mavis said you were a little tense.”

Angus headed toward the backdoor leading into the kitchen. “I'm fine.” He kicked it open for Merle to follow. Inside, Lucretia was putting a kettle on and fiddling with the volume of the record player. “Another cup I think, Aunt Lu.”

“Of course. It's good to see you, Merle.”

“And you, boss lady!” He hugged her and settled at the table. “Gosh, I love this place. Magnus sure outdid himself with it.”

“He's resting,” Lucretia said.

“I know. I came for you guys. How're you holdin' up?”

“We're fine,” Angus said. He picked up the mail from that morning and flipped through it. “We don't need emotional babysitters.”

“Well, Taako mentioned--”

“Taako would be one to talk,” Angus snapped.

Lucretia frowned. “Angus, honey. _Please._ ”

“Look, if one more person asks me if I'm fine, I'm gonna start telling the truth and no one's going to like it.” He slapped the mail on the table. “I need a shower,” he said, and headed upstairs. He stopped at the top.

“--just having a hard time.”

“Maybe he needs a trip. We could go camping,” Merle offered.

“That's not the solution to everything. And we can't take Magnus camping. He needs to be here. Taking him out confuses him.”

“Shit, I'm sorry. I didn't...I didn't realize it was that bad.”

“Gods, Merle, don't be. You're so busy.”

Angus swallowed and headed down the hall.

“...Ango?”

He so rarely heard Magnus's voice these days that it startled him, and he burst into the room, worried that something had happened.

“Dad--”

Magnus was pushing himself up in bed, but he didn't seem distressed. He looked up at Angus and grinned. “I'm glad I talked you into callin' me that.”

Angus felt himself relax, and he went to prop up some pillows behind Magnus and settled in the chair Lucretia had brought in so they could read to him. Magnus's hand found his.

“Well. It seemed appropriate. You okay?”

“Oh, yeah. I'm fine.” Magnus sniffed. “Just...just thinking about what's next.”

“Hey, that's a ways off--”

“It isn't, though.” He gripped Angus's hand a little tighter. “And that's okay.”

“I don't want to talk about this—”

“I'm feeling _good_ , Angus. I'm feeling like...like myself, just a bit. I know I've been hell to deal with--”

“No, you haven't. You couldn't be.”

Magnus smiled. “It's ok. I know it hasn't been easy--”

“It doesn't matter if it's easy,” Angus said. “You're...you're my father. You took care of me. So I'm going to take care of you. Right until you don't need me anymore.” He reached out and cupped Magnus's jaw. “And _then_ you can move on. Okay? But not...not a minute sooner.”

Magnus scrubbed his cheek. “Yeah. Okay, kiddo.” He lifted Angus's hand and kissed his knuckles. “Don't know what I did to deserve you.”

“You saved the world,” Angus said quietly. “And then you saved me.”

Magnus shook his head. “No,” he whispered. “No, Angus.” He clutched his hand close. “ _You_ saved _me._ ”

 

* * *

 

Lup came over often to sit with Magnus. She was always the one who could get him down the stairs, get him to sit outside, especially as spring and summer came.

“Did you see Lucretia's roses?” she asked one day, as she brushed his hair and fixed the collar of his shirt. “Remember when you helped plant those?”

“S'while ago,” Magnus murmured.

“Years and years,” Lup agreed, kissing his temple. Angus brought out two cups of tea for them. “Thank you, darling. Magnus, hon, cream and sugar?”

“Always.”

“You've never now how to drink tea properly,” she muttered, and Magnus chuckled. “Do you want Taako to come by soon? I think he wants to cook for you.”

“Please?” Magnus asked. “Could he?”

“Of course. He and Kravitz are coming back from a trip next week--”

Magnus frowned. “Who?”

Lup put her hand over his. “Kravitz, honey. Taako's husband.”

“Taako's...Taako's _husband._ ”

“Yes. You remember him? You fought him years ago, and he helped fight the Hunger--”

Magnus leaned back. “Sure,” he said. “Alright.”

Lup sighed. “Remember? He...he sends messages to Julia sometimes.”

Magnus's eyes lit up with recognition. “Oh! Oh, yeah, I remember.”

Lup smiled. “There you go,” she said. “There you go.”

 

* * *

 

“Magnus?” Lucretia leaned down and kissed his forehead. “Taako is here. Do you want to go into the kitchen?”

“Please,” he murmured, and Angus and Lucretia helped him down the stairs. His face brightened almost impossibly whenever he saw Taako and Merle. They were both in the kitchen that morning, teasing one another as Taako prepared a feast. “Hey!”

Taako turned from the stove with a grin. “Brick shithouse!”

Magnus laughed. “Smells good.”

“Damn right it does. Three chickens roasting in the oven, Merle's potatoes and parsnips are roasting, we got _wine_ , we got _cake_ \--” Taako went and took Magnus's hands in his and helped him settle at the table. “Do you remember what today is?” Magnus shook his head, and Taako reached out, taking his chin between his fingers. “Story and Song, my dude.”

“Oh! Oh it is, isn't it?”

Lucretia nodded. “It is.”

“Everyone's coming over,” Merle said brightly.

“We aren't...going to the Bureau?”

“Nope.” Merle winked. “We came to you, bud.”

Davenport came into the kitchen, shrugging out of his coat. “It's raining cats and dogs out there.”

“Cap'n!” Magnus called.

“Mags!” Davenport called back, and they embraced. “How's it goin', kiddo?”

“I'm old as shit, cap.”

“Yeah, but you'll, uh.” Davenport sniffed. “You'll always be that dumb kid that stuck a fork in a socket.”

“I did it for science!”

Taako rolled his eyes. “Someone get this man a shitty cup of tea?”

Angus smiled. “I'm on it,” he said.

And around him, his family grew.

 

* * *

 

It was the best way to say goodbye. Angus didn't know how they knew, but – that weekend, they were all gathered in the house and Magnus...moved on.

He felt the cool presence of Kravitz disappear, and Magnus's chest finally settled.

Lup looked at Angus and reached out for him, taking him into her arms. “He's safe,” she whispered. “He is safe and he is _loved._ ”

“Is she--”

“Yes.” Lup pulled back and held his face in her hands. “She's there. And he's going to be with her.”

Barry put a hand on his shoulder. “They're going to be together again.”

Angus nodded. He felt everything shake around him and suddenly Lucretia and Taako and Merle were right there, holding him. They were all holding each other – the world tilted and it was a little more empty when it righted itself, but Angus –

He turned to where Magnus's body lay in the bed and smiled. They'd argued about who'd been better for whom, but in the end, he knew –

They had sort of saved each other.

“He...he remembers everything over there, doesn't he?”

Barry nodded. “Eveything,” he said.

Lup kissed his cheek. “And every _one._ ”

 

**Author's Note:**

> tumblr @ weatheredlaw  
> lyrics and title from "sea of love" (i was listening to the cat power version it's my favorite)


End file.
